Raiders head coach Dennis Allen knows that all eyes are on him this coming season. The team, which essentially dumped its roster and started over when he arrived, was 4-12 in each of his first two years.

"There's no question that this is the year we have to make something happen," Allen said during an interview with The Chronicle at last month's NFL combine in Indianapolis. "We need to show significant improvement this season.

"We have to show that this is a team on the rise ... and the record needs to show that."

Allen, 41, knows critics and fans judge him by his 8-24 record, but he said he knows he is the right man for the job.

"I am not worried about trying to prove myself to anybody," said Allen, the defensive coordinator in Denver before coming to Oakland. "I have been in the league long enough and I know what my reputation is in this league. I know I am a good football coach. I want to win ...

"I am excited about getting back to work and getting this team to where it should be. I am confident in who I am as a coach."

Salary cap space

Last week, Raiders owner Mark Davis called this a "transformative offseason" for his team. After two years of roster "deconstruction," Oakland has $66.4 million in salary-cap space to spend on free agents.

Allen said the teardown was harder than he thought it would be.

"Yeah, it's been tough," Allen said. "Obviously, in the first year, coming into the situation, there were a lot of new things to learn. New owner, new general manager, new coach. ... I think that had a lot to do with why we weren't as successful as we hoped to be.

"The second year, there was a lot of promise early on, but we just didn't have the depth to be able to sustain it. ...

"I do think we got the best out of our players the first half of the season, and they gave us everything that they had at the end of the season. We just weren't good enough."

Close games

Allen pointed to the Colts and Titans games as close, late losses that could have changed the tune of nay-sayers.

"A couple of plays here and there and they are totally different games. Even in the Dallas game," Allen said. "And then there's probably not the negative vibe that some people have."

Allen does feel that in two years, the Raiders have formed a "foundation of core people" on the roster.

Hayden, the team's first-round pick in 2013, didn't start and struggled before missing the last eight games with a groin injury.

"I think D.J. Hayden is going to be outstanding," Allen said. "If he can stay healthy, I think he is going to be outstanding."

Hayden needs to make the jump to become a starter and, the Raiders hope, an impact player in his second season.

"You build a team through the draft, you raise these guys within your organization, the way you want them to be brought up, so that they play the way you want them to play," Allen said. "Sign them to their second contract and then augment your team through free agency.

"That's where we're at right now."

Fifth pick in the draft

Some thought Hayden was picked too high, 12th overall. But in the end, it's a gut decision. Just like the one general manager Reggie McKenzie will make with the fifth overall pick, after meeting with the top quarterbacks at the combine.

"People make mistakes in the draft," Allen said. "Not because of ability. They make mistakes in the draft because of other factors. (The players) don't have it in their heart or they don't have it in their head. Football is just not that important to them, or they're not smart enough to process the information fast enough.

"That's the part we have to do a great job evaluating, especially at the quarterback position. It takes all those intangibles to play that position, and succeed at a high level."

The Raiders are in the market for a quarterback, both in the draft and in free agency. Allen has Matt McGloin, Terrelle Pryor and Trent Edwards on the roster, and it's safe to say he's not looking at any of them to be the starter next season.

Allen knows that in today's NFL, a top quarterback makes all the difference.